CL’s talented contributing writers submitted some seriously tasty-looking recipes for our Food and Drink section this past year. After sorting through them all, I chose 57 original recipes that were submitted in 2010 and asked readers to vote on their favorites. Here are the winners (in no particular order).
‘Arroz con Andy’ is Tampa food historian Andy Huse’s take on Latin chicken and yellow rice where the rice, not the chicken, is the star. Beer, bacon, chicken and saffron marry to create an amalgamation of flavors in this South American-inspired comfort food dish.
The idea behind my Brussels sprouts with caramelized onions was simply to get people to not turn their noses up at this vegetable anymore. Cooking them properly is the first step (read: not boiling the hell out of them) and the addition of the slightly sweet caramelized onions balances their bitter flavor.
Do I even need to explain why Susan Filson’s recipe for candied bacon-chocolate chunk cookies was a hit? Taking that extra step and “caramelizing” the bacon with brown sugar before adding it to the batter lends an extra layer of sweetness that enhances the flavor of the chocolate even more.
Patrice Knezevic’s carrot cake with goat cheese frosting is an interesting combination of sweet and savory — the tangy goat cheese adds extra oomph to the cream cheese frosting and enhances the taste of the sweet spiced cake. The addition of the sunflower seeds in the cake batter lends a bit of crunchy texture that makes it even more enjoyable.
One of the top picks by our readers, Patrice Knezevic’s cheddar ale soup with pretzel croutons looks like heaven in a bowl (especially if you’re a big fan of cheese). Cheese, beer and pretzels are the main ingredients in this simple and satisfying soup.
My mussels in Madras coconut curry sauce recipe is a fusion of flavors from various global cuisines: the Indian Madras curry, a coconut milk-based broth often seen in Thai cooking, and Moules Marinières, a classic French dish that involves steaming mussels in white wine. You simply must serve this dish with toasted baguette to dip into the broth.
Simple and decadent best sum up Leslie Green’s mocha tart (another major vote-getter). Its uncomplicated beginnings of cream cheese, chocolate ganache and espresso powder poured into a chocolate graham pie shell transform into a deep, almost sinful mocha flavor.
For this year’s Food Issue, we asked local chefs to submit their best recipes. Z Grille chef/owner Zac Gross gave us his spicy sambal shrimp with jicama slaw: a simple and light dish with Southeast Asian sambal oelek chili paste as the star flavor, further complemented by the crunchy, tangy jicama slaw. And, if you don’t feel like making it yourself, you can find it on Zac’s menu at his downtown St. Pete eatery.
Our resident mixologist, Paul Abercrombie, lent us the recipe for his pineapple caipirinha with sweet lime espuma — a pineapple and sugarcane rum cocktail with a citrusy egg white foam. And don’t be put off by the raw egg whites, because they impart a zesty, airy contrasting texture to the sweet liquid.
Another winning dessert by Leslie Green, her white chocolate mousse and Nutella tarts are perfect for any time of the year. White chocolate mousse and fresh berries top a layer of hazelnut-chocolate goodness in a graham cracker tart shell. Simply perfection.
For more tasty recipes, browse through the CL Cookbook at CL's Food & Drink site,
This article appears in Dec 23-29, 2010.